Panoramic portals for connecting remote spaces

ABSTRACT

Example implementations described herein are directed to systems and methods for providing a panoramic video connection between one location and another, or between one location and a number of distributed remote viewers, which provides reciprocity in terms of awareness of who is viewing and what they are looking at. In example implementations described herein, radial displays present panoramic video from remote locations, or synthesized views of face shots positioned to indicate the viewing direction of remote viewers.

BACKGROUND Field

The present disclosure is related generally to video systems, and morespecifically, to systems and methods for providing panoramic portals.

Related Art

Panoramic video is becoming increasingly widespread, and related artplatforms support live streaming of 360° video. A camera can be placedat an interesting location, such as an event venue, and remoteparticipants can watch the video and freely look around as if they arephysically present. However, the related art arrangement lacksreciprocity, as people at the location of the panoramic camera lackawareness of who, or how many people are watching or where they arelooking. This lack of reciprocity can create an unwelcome sense that thespace is being viewed by unexpected viewers, or that the remote personis only an observer and not a participant.

One related art implementation to address the above problem involvesbidirectional video connections with cameras and displays at eachlocation. Such implementations provide a remote space and itsparticipants a physical representation in the local space that allowsmore natural interaction between present and remote participants.However, related art implementations have involved standard (e.g.limited field-of-view perspective view) video, and there is no systemthat addresses such related art problems for 360° video.

SUMMARY

Example implementations are directed to panoramic portals, which involvea system that includes a camera, a display, and one or more processors.In example implementations, a portal is a device which provides viewerswith a view into another space. In the present disclosure, panoramicvideo can involve video covering a 360 degree field of view in the‘longitudinal’ (azimuthal) direction. The video may be represented andtransmitted by ‘equirectangular’ images in which the x (horizontal) axiscorresponds to longitude (or yaw) and the y axis corresponds to latitude(or pitch.) The panoramic video portal utilizes a panoramic camera andfacilitates a suitable way of displaying panoramic video, which can beutilized in various distinct usage scenarios.

Example implementations of the present disclosure involve cylindrical,conical, spherical or other radial displays for the purpose of panoramicportals, and includes methods of use for these displays to supportreciprocity and awareness.

Example implementations described herein can be implemented withflexible displays such as curved or flexible organic light emittingdiodes (OLED), but can also be implemented as front or rear projectiononto radial projection surfaces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system implementation of amultidirectional panoramic wormhole, in accordance with an exampleimplementation.

FIGS. 2(a) to 2(d) illustrate example cameras that can be utilized inexample implementations.

FIGS. 3(a) to 3(f) illustrate example spherical and cylindricaldisplays, in accordance with an example implementation.

FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) illustrates an example flow, in accordance with anexample implementation.

FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b) illustrate example implementations involving frontprojection and rear projection, respectively, on a conical surface.

FIGS. 6(a) to 6(d) illustrate example display shapes, in accordance withan example implementation.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example computing environment with an examplecomputer device suitable for use in some example implementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description provides further details of thefigures and example implementations of the present application.Reference numerals and descriptions of redundant elements betweenfigures are omitted for clarity. Terms used throughout the descriptionare provided as examples and are not intended to be limiting. Forexample, the use of the term “automatic” may involve fully automatic orsemi-automatic implementations involving user or administrator controlover certain aspects of the implementation, depending on the desiredimplementation of one of ordinary skill in the art practicingimplementations of the present application. Selection can be conductedby a user through a user interface or other input means, or can beimplemented through a desired algorithm. Example implementations asdescribed herein can be utilized either singularly or in combination andthe functionality of the example implementations can be implementedthrough any means according to the desired implementations.

Example implementations described herein include systems and methods forproviding reciprocity in case of substantially 360° video. Related artvideo porthole and video-conferencing methods do not provide suchreciprocity. Example implementations can be further configured to showremote distributed viewers, and where the viewers are looking within alive streamed 360° video stream.

Example implementations described herein can also involve an interfacein which view can be rotated, possibly by swipe gesture, or by automaticmethods. Example implementations described herein can be configured todisplay a remote participant which indicates where they are lookingwithout requiring moving mechanisms, and can be configured to presentstabilized display for portable telepresence devices.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system implementation of a bidirectionalpanoramic wormhole, in accordance with an example implementation. Inexample implementations, the wormhole is a bidirectional portal whichallows viewers in two remote spaces to see into each other's space. Inthe example system, there are radial displays 100, and panoramic cameras101. Video transmissions 102 are transmitted from panoramic cameras 101to the corresponding counterpart radial display 100. In the example ofFIG. 1, the panoramic camera and display at one location are connectedto a camera and display at another. People around the portal at onelocation see through the portal to the remote location, and can see thepeople around that remote portal, and vice versa. In exampleimplementations, the radial displays 100 are disposed at remotelocations from each other and are managed by a system as described inFIG. 7 to facilitate video imagery between the radial displays 100.

In another example implementation, a single panoramic portal can beutilized instead of a bidirectional panoramic wormhole system. In suchexample implementations, there can be remote viewers at many locations,watching on mobile devices, laptops, web browsers, and so on. Suchexample implementations can facilitate a one-to-many configuration withone special location having the panoramic camera and radial display, andpotentially many other viewers.

In such a configuration, indicators of remote people can be placed onthe portal, to show where they are looking. Such indicators couldinvolve indicators such as dots or boxes showing where the remote peopleare looking, or could be pictures, or even live video of the remoteviewers (e.g. the viewer faces).

In another example implementation, mirroring can be implemented whereinthe radial display shows the live video from the camera at the samelocation. Such implementations can be utilized while the video isrecorded. Such implementations can be used in a situation where there isan activity proximate to the portal, such as a meeting, or public orartistic event such as a dance, which is being recorded. In an exampleimplementation with stadiums having 360° cameras, such video feed can beutilized to display the entire stadium as the sporting event isoccurring, thereby allowing the user to view a sporting event in anydesired direction from the camera position.

In another example implementation, asynchronous implementations can alsobe utilized, such as for recorded playback. The portal can show local orremote panoramic video that was recorded at an earlier time. As peopleare watching or interacting with the portal, they can also be recorded.Such implementations can support an asynchronous activity such as dance,in which some dancers are recorded, and then later other dancers (or thesame) participate in the dance.

In example implementations, the display can be rotated in software toprovide a spinning effect, such that the remote viewer can virtuallymove to a different position. Such implementations can involve detectinga ‘swipe’ gesture, either using a touch sensitive surface or a schemesuch as RGB and depth sensors for tracking.

In another example implementation, the display can also introduce arotation based on tracking or other video analytics. For example, if oneperson is looking at a local portal, seeing another person at a remotespace, rotations could be applied as each person is moving around sothat they would continue to see each other as they look at the displays.In another example implementation, eye gaze detection can be utilized todetermine areas of interest. For example, if someone is looking at aportion of the display not centered towards them, after a period oftime, the display could rotate to bring the apparent area of interestclosed to the viewer.

FIGS. 2(a) to 2(d) illustrate example cameras that can be utilized inexample implementations. Video is collected with 360° cameras. Examplesof such cameras can include catadioptric cameras as illustrated in FIG.2(a). FIG. 2(b) illustrates example fisheye lens systems. FIG. 2(c)illustrates example panoramic camera systems. FIG. 2(d) illustratesexample live streaming cameras, which can include drivers that makeequirectangular images available. Such images can be provided locally,or broadcast using image protocols according to the desiredimplementation. Such images can also be stored for later playback, andalso immediately after a recording. Depending on the desiredimplementation, any of the cameras can be used interchangeably andacross camera types with the appropriate software implementation.

In example implementations, a 3D scene is created whereinequirectangular images are texture-mapped onto geometry such as asphere. The virtual camera is rotated to provide a view at any angle.Remote users may view the panoramic video as standard perspective imageswith highly responsive panning based on mouse, orientation of mobiledevices, or head mounted display. The view direction for each viewer isreported to other viewers or special display modes using socket.iomessaging. In example implementations, the camera may be mounted on theradial displays in the example implementation, as illustrated in FIGS.6(a) to 6(d), to capture a 360° view of the area surrounding the radialdisplay.

FIGS. 3(a) to 3(f) illustrate example spherical and cylindricaldisplays, in accordance with an example implementation. Specifically,FIGS. 3(a) to 3(c) illustrate example spherical displays, such asmulti-touch spherical displays, OLED spherical displays, or spheredisplays. FIGS. 3(d) to 3(f) illustrate example cylindrical displays,such as LED spherical displays. In example implementations, suchdisplays can be driven by a management system or an apparatus to displaypanoramic images as described herein.

FIG. 4(a) illustrates an example flow, in accordance with an exampleimplementation. Specifically, FIG. 4(a) illustrates an example flowwherein video received from spherical camera 401 is converted toequirectangular images, then processed, e.g., broadcast, streamed orstored. The video is then displayed by mapping the equirectangularimages to a suitable radial display. The radial display can be a made ofLEDs or other active display materials to directly display the receivedimages. Alternatively, the equirectangular images can be mapped toannular images and projected by a projector onto the display surface. Ina projection implementation, the radial surface can be a physical radialsurface, such as a cone, hemisphere, and so on.

In an example implementation as described in FIG. 4(a), the sphericalcamera 401 records images as a spherical input image representation 402.The spherical input image representation is then transformed into anannular image 404 through any desired implementation. The annular image404 is then displayed by the radial display 405, or projected onto theradial display 405 through a projector 406. In example implementations,the spherical input image representation 402 can be provided by camerasthat are configured to provide an equirectangular image, or other imagesthat can represent a spherical image such as dual fisheye images, cubemap images, and so on depending on the camera and the desiredimplementation.

In an example implementation, downward projection can be utilized from aprojector mounted above the radial display 405, however the presentdisclosure is not limited to such an implementation. Other exampleimplementations can involve an upward facing projector on the floor orwithin the radial display 405, configured to project onto the rear sideof a suitable rear projection surface such as polyethylene. For example,rear projection can be implemented through use of a small portableprojector onto the inside of a radial display surface such as a plasticcone. FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b) illustrate example implementations involvingfront projection and rear projection, respectively, on a conicalsurface.

As shown in the example flow of FIG. 4(a), a camera 401 projectsrecorded images in the form of a spherical input image representationonto a sphere as shown at 402. The spherical input image representation402 is wrapped into an annular image 404 wherein, for example, the topof the spherical input image representation 402 becomes the innercircle, and the bottom becomes the outer circle. In such animplementation, the image projected downward onto the radial display 405is conducted such that the top of the radial display 405 displays thetop of the image and the outside is the bottom. However, the location ofthe projector may be in other locations as noted herein, and can beplaced depending on the desired implementation.

FIG. 4(b) illustrates an example flow, in accordance with an exampleimplementation. Specifically, FIG. 4(b) illustrates an example involvinga camera 410 that is configured to record and provide equirectangularimages, such as a camera configured to record panoramic images, securitycameras, or other cameras according to the desired implementation. Insuch cases, the equirectangular images 403 can be transformed intoannular images 404 through the desired implementation.

In additional example implementations, projector 406 can be omitted ifthe radial display 405 is configured to receive and displayequirectangular images, such as a warped OLED display or through otherconfigurations according to the desired implementation. For example, aportable version of the panoramic portal could be created using a smallcurved OLED display.

FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b) illustrate example implementations involving frontprojection and rear projection, respectively, on a conical surface. Asshown in the example of FIG. 5(a), the projector is placed above theradial display and projected downwards. In the example of the rearprojection of FIG. 5(b), the projector is placed within the radialdisplay and projects outwards throughout the radial display.

In example implementations, a variety of display surface shapes could beused depending on the desired implementation. FIGS. 6(a) to 6(d)illustrate example display shapes, in accordance with an exampleimplementation. Each of the example display shapes involve symmetricradial shapes where an annular image can be projected. In the example ofFIG. 6(a), the shape is a convex configuration involving a camera on apole. In the example of FIG. 6(b), the display is configured to providethe view direction of remote viewers. In the example of FIG. 6(c), theshape is a convex surface with a portion of a hemisphere. In the exampleof FIG. 6(d), the display is a concave conical surface in which theviewer can look down into the display. Depending on the desiredimplementation, the concave case can give better spatial orientation forsome applications, because a person looking in a given yaw direction canbe aligned with the view from the camera in that direction. Similarly,if the projection is onto a bowl shape, and a person is viewing lookingdown into the bowl a lower distortion view can be achievable.

If spherical video is projected from the center of a sphere onto theinside surface of the sphere, and is viewed from near the center, arelatively undistorted view can be scene looking in any direction. Othermethods for presenting the full video will create some kind ofdistortion, including any projection of the video onto a radial display.However, users have shown to be capable of looking at oblique ordistorted images and understanding the images, so such distortion canstill be acceptable depending on the desired implementation. Forexample, in a symmetric radial shape such as a cylinder involvingprojectors, multiple projectors will be needed to provide a radialdisplay with reduced distortion. However, in example implementations ofa conical radial display with projector, only a single projector isneeded to project an annular image, as the conical radial shape canprovide relatively undistorted views of the annular image.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example computing environment with an examplecomputer device suitable for use in some example implementations, suchas an apparatus or management system configured to manage a radialdisplay as illustrated, for example, in FIGS. 3(a) to 3(f) or FIGS. 5(a)and 5(b) or multiple radial displays, each having a camera asillustrated in FIG. 1.

Computer device 705 in computing environment 700 can include one or moreprocessing units, cores, or processors 710, memory 715 (e.g., RAM, ROM,and/or the like), internal storage 720 (e.g., magnetic, optical, solidstate storage, and/or organic), and/or I/O interface 725, any of whichcan be coupled on a communication mechanism or bus 730 for communicatinginformation or embedded in the computer device 705. I/O interface 725 isalso configured to receive images from cameras or provide images toprojectors or displays, depending on the desired implementation.

Computer device 705 can be communicatively coupled to input/userinterface 735 and output device/interface 740. Either one or both ofinput/user interface 735 and output device/interface 740 can be a wiredor wireless interface and can be detachable. Input/user interface 735may include any device, component, sensor, or interface, physical orvirtual, that can be used to provide input (e.g., buttons, touch-screeninterface, keyboard, a pointing/cursor control, microphone, camera,braille, motion sensor, optical reader, and/or the like). Outputdevice/interface 740 may include a display, television, monitor,printer, speaker, braille, or the like. In some example implementations,input/user interface 735 and output device/interface 740 can be embeddedwith or physically coupled to the computer device 705. In other exampleimplementations, other computer devices may function as or provide thefunctions of input/user interface 735 and output device/interface 740for a computer device 705.

Examples of computer device 705 may include, but are not limited to,highly mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, devices in vehicles and othermachines, devices carried by humans and animals, and the like), mobiledevices (e.g., tablets, notebooks, laptops, personal computers, portabletelevisions, radios, and the like), and devices not designed formobility (e.g., desktop computers, other computers, information kiosks,televisions with one or more processors embedded therein and/or coupledthereto, radios, and the like).

Computer device 705 can be communicatively coupled (e.g., via I/Ointerface 725) to external storage 745 and network 750 for communicatingwith any number of networked components, devices, and systems, includingone or more computer devices of the same or different configuration.Computer device 705 or any connected computer device can be functioningas, providing services of, or referred to as a server, client, thinserver, general machine, special-purpose machine, or another label.

I/O interface 725 can include, but is not limited to, wired and/orwireless interfaces using any communication or I/O protocols orstandards (e.g., Ethernet, 802.11x, Universal System Bus, WiMax, modem,a cellular network protocol, and the like) for communicating informationto and/or from at least all the connected components, devices, andnetwork in computing environment 700. Network 750 can be any network orcombination of networks (e.g., the Internet, local area network, widearea network, a telephonic network, a cellular network, satellitenetwork, and the like).

Computer device 705 can use and/or communicate using computer-usable orcomputer-readable media, including transitory media and non-transitorymedia. Transitory media include transmission media (e.g., metal cables,fiber optics), signals, carrier waves, and the like. Non-transitorymedia include magnetic media (e.g., disks and tapes), optical media(e.g., CD ROM, digital video disks, Blu-ray disks), solid state media(e.g., RAM, ROM, flash memory, solid-state storage), and othernon-volatile storage or memory.

Computer device 705 can be used to implement techniques, methods,applications, processes, or computer-executable instructions in someexample computing environments. Computer-executable instructions can beretrieved from transitory media, and stored on and retrieved fromnon-transitory media. The executable instructions can originate from oneor more of any programming, scripting, and machine languages (e.g., C,C++, C#, Java, Visual Basic, Python, Perl, JavaScript, and others).

Processor(s) 710 can execute under any operating system (OS) (notshown), in a native or virtual environment. One or more applications canbe deployed that include logic unit 760, application programminginterface (API) unit 765, input unit 770, output unit 775, andinter-unit communication mechanism 795 for the different units tocommunicate with each other, with the OS, and with other applications(not shown). The described units and elements can be varied in design,function, configuration, or implementation and are not limited to thedescriptions provided.

In some example implementations, when information or an executioninstruction is received by API unit 765, it may be communicated to oneor more other units (e.g., logic unit 760, input unit 770, output unit775). In some instances, logic unit 760 may be configured to control theinformation flow among the units and direct the services provided by APIunit 765, input unit 770, output unit 775, in some exampleimplementations described above. For example, the flow of one or moreprocesses or implementations may be controlled by logic unit 760 aloneor in conjunction with API unit 765. The input unit 770 may beconfigured to obtain input for the calculations described in the exampleimplementations, and the output unit 775 may be configured to provideoutput based on the calculations described in example implementations.

In example implementations, processor(s) 710 may be configured totransform a received image into an annular image; and project theannular image onto the radial display as illustrated in FIG. 4(a) or4(b). The received image can be an equirectangular image, which can beprovided by a panoramic camera configured to record equirectangular orpanoramic images and provide the recorded equirectangular images as thereceived images as illustrated in FIG. 4(b). The received images canalso be spherical input image representations which can be provided by acamera configured to record equirectangular, fish eye, or other imagerepresentations and provide the recorded image representations asreceived images as illustrated in FIG. 4(a). In such an exampleimplementation, processor(s) may be configured to transform the receivedimage from a spherical image representation into the annular image asillustrated in FIG. 4(a).

One example implementation uses a conical radial display, wherein aprojector is utilized to project downwards onto the conical radialdisplay, the conical radial display oriented such that the wider portionof the conical radial display is further away from the projector thanthe narrower portion of the conical radial display, wherein theprocessor(s) 710 may be configured to project the annular image onto theconical radial display through use of the projector such that theprojector projects the annular image at a higher intensity for the widerportions than the narrower portions as illustrated in FIGS. 4(a) and5(a). In this manner, the projector projects the outer portions of theannular image with more light intensity at the wider portion of theconical radial display to maintain uniform light intensity throughoutthe display, as the light intensity may be faded at the farther regionscompared to the top of the conical radial display.

In another example implementation, the projector is located within theconical radial display as illustrated, for example, in FIG. 5(b) toprovide rear projection. In such an example, the conical radial displayis oriented such that the narrower portion of the conical radial displayis further away from the projector than the wider portion of the conicalradial display as illustrated in FIG. 5(b).

In example implementations, other symmetric radial displays are alsopossible and can be configured to be driven by the processor(s) 710 asillustrated in FIGS. 3(a) to 3(f) and FIGS. 6(a) to 6(d). In such anexample implementation, the processor(s) 710 may be configured toproject the annular image onto the radial display through driving thesymmetrical radial display to display the annular image.

Depending on the desired implementation, a camera, such as thoseillustrated in FIGS. 2(a) to 2(d), may be attached to the radialdisplay, wherein the received image involves previously recorded imagesfrom the camera, thereby providing a playback of everything witnessed bythe camera.

Depending on the desired implementation, an interface may be provided torotate the projection of the annular image on the radial display. Suchan interface may be gesture based, may be a physical device configuredto rotate the radial display, or can be done automatically by theprojector or by processor(s) 710 depending on the desiredimplementation.

In example implementations of a management system, the management systemcan manage a first panoramic portal having a first radial display, afirst camera attached to the first radial display, the first cameraconfigured to record first images; a second radial display; and a secondcamera attached to the second radial display, the second cameraconfigured to record second images as illustrated in FIG. 1. The firstand second panoramic portals may be communicatively coupled by anydesired implementation, such as local area network (LAN), wide areanetwork (WAN), over the internet, and so on.

In example implementations of a management system, processor(s) 710 canbe configured to facilitate video streaming between the first panoramicportal and the second panoramic portal as illustrated in FIG. 1, and beconfigured to transform the second images into first annular images;project the first annular images onto the first radial display;transform the first images into second annular images; and project thesecond annular images onto the second radial display as illustrated inFIG. 1 through the flow as described in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b). Dependingon the desired implementation, at least one or both of the first imagesand the second images are equirectangular images as provided bypanoramic cameras attached to at least one of the first radial displayand the second radial display as illustrated in FIG. 1.

Depending on the desired implementation, at least one of the firstimages and the second images can be spherical image representations, asprovided by cameras attached to at least one of the first radial displayand the second radial display as illustrated in FIG. 1. In such anexample implementation, processor(s) can be configured to transform theat least one of the first images and the second images into annularimages through a transform of spherical image representations into theannular images as illustrated in FIG. 4(a).

Depending on the desired implementation, at least one or both of theradial displays can be a conical radial display, wherein a projector canbe configured to project downwards onto the conical radial display asillustrated in FIG. 5(a). The conical radial display can oriented suchthat the wider portion of the conical radial display is further awayfrom the projector than the narrower portion of the conical radialdisplay, wherein the processor(s) 710 can be configured to project thefirst annular images onto the conical radial display through use of theprojector such that the projector projects the first annular images at ahigher intensity for the wider portions than the narrower portions. Inthis manner, the projector projects the outer portions of the annularimage with more light intensity at the wider portion of the conicalradial display to maintain uniform light intensity throughout thedisplay, as the light intensity may be faded at the farther regionscompared to the top of the conical radial display.

Depending on the desired implementations, at least one of the radialdisplays can be a conical radial display with a projector located withinthe conical radial display as illustrated in FIG. 5(b), the conicalradial display oriented such that the narrower portion of the conicalradial display is further away from the projector than the wider portionof the conical radial display.

In example implementations of the management system, some or all of theradial displays can be symmetric radial display configured to be drivenby the processor(s) 710 to display the annular image, such asillustrated in FIGS. 3(a) to 3(f).

In the management system for FIG. 1, the cameras for both radialdisplays can be configured to provide images as live streaming video tothe management system, and the annular images can be 360 degree livevideo streams provided by the camera of other radial displays tofacilitate conferencing and communications between radial displays inthe form of a 360 degree live stream video. Each radial display can alsoinclude an interface configured to rotate the projection of the firstannular images on the radial display. Such an interface may be gesturebased, may be a physical device configured to rotate the radial display,or can be done automatically by the projector or by processor(s) 710depending on the desired implementation.

Some portions of the detailed description are presented in terms ofalgorithms and symbolic representations of operations within a computer.These algorithmic descriptions and symbolic representations are themeans used by those skilled in the data processing arts to convey theessence of their innovations to others skilled in the art. An algorithmis a series of defined steps leading to a desired end state or result.In example implementations, the steps carried out require physicalmanipulations of tangible quantities for achieving a tangible result.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the discussion,it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizingterms such as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,”“displaying,” or the like, can include the actions and processes of acomputer system or other information processing device that manipulatesand transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantitieswithin the computer system's registers and memories into other datasimilarly represented as physical quantities within the computersystem's memories or registers or other information storage,transmission or display devices.

Example implementations may also relate to an apparatus for performingthe operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed forthe required purposes, or it may include one or more general-purposecomputers selectively activated or reconfigured by one or more computerprograms. Such computer programs may be stored in a computer readablemedium, such as a computer-readable storage medium or acomputer-readable signal medium. A computer-readable storage medium mayinvolve tangible mediums such as, but not limited to optical disks,magnetic disks, read-only memories, random access memories, solid statedevices and drives, or any other types of tangible or non-transitorymedia suitable for storing electronic information. A computer readablesignal medium may include mediums such as carrier waves. The algorithmsand displays presented herein are not inherently related to anyparticular computer or other apparatus. Computer programs can involvepure software implementations that involve instructions that perform theoperations of the desired implementation.

Various general-purpose systems may be used with programs and modules inaccordance with the examples herein, or it may prove convenient toconstruct a more specialized apparatus to perform desired method steps.In addition, the example implementations are not described withreference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciatedthat a variety of programming languages may be used to implement theteachings of the example implementations as described herein. Theinstructions of the programming language(s) may be executed by one ormore processing devices, e.g., central processing units (CPUs),processors, or controllers.

As is known in the art, the operations described above can be performedby hardware, software, or some combination of software and hardware.Various aspects of the example implementations may be implemented usingcircuits and logic devices (hardware), while other aspects may beimplemented using instructions stored on a machine-readable medium(software), which if executed by a processor, would cause the processorto perform a method to carry out implementations of the presentapplication. Further, some example implementations of the presentapplication may be performed solely in hardware, whereas other exampleimplementations may be performed solely in software. Moreover, thevarious functions described can be performed in a single unit, or can bespread across a number of components in any number of ways. Whenperformed by software, the methods may be executed by a processor, suchas a general purpose computer, based on instructions stored on acomputer-readable medium. If desired, the instructions can be stored onthe medium in a compressed and/or encrypted format.

Moreover, other implementations of the present application will beapparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of thespecification and practice of the teachings of the present application.Various aspects and/or components of the described exampleimplementations may be used singly or in any combination. It is intendedthat the specification and example implementations be considered asexamples only, with the true scope and spirit of the present applicationbeing indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a radial display; and anapparatus configured to manage the radial display, the apparatuscomprising: a processor, configured to: transform a received image intoanother image; and display the another image onto the radial display. 2.The system of claim 1, wherein the received image is an equirectangularimage.
 3. The system of claim 2, further comprising a panoramic cameraconfigured to generate equirectangular images and provide theequirectangular images as the received image.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the received image is a spherical image representation, whereinthe processor is configured to transform the received image into theanother image through a transformation into an annular image to beprojected onto the radial display, wherein the processor is configuredto display the another image onto the radial display through projectingthe annular image onto the radial display.
 5. The system of claim 4,further comprising a camera configured to form spherical imagerepresentations and provide the spherical image representations as thereceived image.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the radial display isa conical radial display, wherein the system further comprises aprojector configured to project downwards onto the conical radialdisplay, the conical radial display oriented such that the wider portionof the conical radial display is further away from the projector thanthe narrower portion of the conical radial display, wherein theprocessor is configured to display the another image onto the conicalradial display through use of the projector such that the projectorprojects the another image at a higher intensity for the wider portionsthan the narrower portions.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the radialdisplay is a conical radial display, wherein the system furthercomprises a projector located within the conical radial display, theconical radial display oriented such that the narrower portion of theconical radial display is further away from the projector than the widerportion of the conical radial display, wherein the processor isconfigured to display the another image onto the conical radial displaythrough use of the projector.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein theradial display is a curved or flexible display configured to directlyrender pixels of equirectangular images provided by the processor. 9.The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises a cameraattached to the radial display, wherein the received image comprisespreviously received images from the camera.
 10. The system of claim 1,further comprising an interface configured to rotate the projection ofthe another image on the radial display.
 11. A system, comprising: afirst radial display; a first camera coupled to the first radialdisplay, the first camera configured to receive first images; a secondradial display; a second camera coupled to the second radial display,the second camera configured to receive second images; a system,comprising: a processor, configured to: transform the second images intofirst annular images; project the first annular images onto the firstradial display; transform the first images into second annular images;and project the second annular images onto the second radial display.12. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one of the first images andthe second images are equirectangular images, wherein at least one ofthe first camera and the second camera is a panoramic camera.
 13. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein at least one of the first images and thesecond images are spherical image representations, wherein the processoris configured to transform at least one of the first images and thesecond images into annular images through a transform of the sphericalimage representations into the annular images.
 14. The system of claim11, wherein the first radial display is a conical radial display,wherein the system further comprises a projector configured to projectdownwards onto the conical radial display, the conical radial displayoriented such that the wider portion of the conical radial display isfurther away from the projector than the narrower portion of the conicalradial display, wherein the processor is configured to project the firstannular images onto the conical radial display through use of theprojector such that the projector projects the first annular images at ahigher intensity for the wider portions than the narrower portions. 15.The system of claim 11, wherein the first radial display is a rearprojection conical radial display, wherein the system further comprisesa projector located within the conical radial display.
 16. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the first radial display is a symmetric radial displayconfigured to be driven by the processor to display the annular image.17. The system of claim 11, wherein the first camera is configured toprovide the first images as live streaming video to the managementsystem, wherein the second camera is configured to provide the secondimages as live streaming video to the management system, wherein thefirst annular images are produced from a 360 degree live video stream ofthe live streaming video of the first camera, wherein the second annularimages are produced from a 360 degree live video stream of the streamingvideo of the second camera.
 18. The system of claim 11, furthercomprising a first interface configured to rotate the projection of thefirst annular images on the first radial display, and a second interfaceconfigured to rotate the projection of the second annular images on thesecond radial display.